Questions & explanations
1. What is a key idea in existentialist literature?
Existentialist literature often explores the idea that life has no built-in meaning, and people must create their own purpose. This is called 'freedom' because we are free to choose, but it also brings 'absurdity'—the clash between our need for meaning and a meaningless world. For example, in Camus's novel 'The Stranger', the main character feels detached from society and commits a senseless act, showing the absurd. Sartre's play 'No Exit' shows characters trapped in a room, realizing they are defined by their choices. Beckett's play 'Waiting for Godot' has two men waiting endlessly, representing the struggle to find meaning. These works ask us to face our freedom and take responsibility for our actions.
2. Compare how Sartre and Camus view freedom and responsibility.
Both Sartre and Camus believe life has no given meaning, but they differ slightly. Sartre emphasizes that we are 'condemned to be free'—we must choose and take full responsibility for our actions, even if it is painful. Camus focuses on the absurd: we want meaning, but the world gives none, so we should rebel by living fully despite this. For example, in Camus's 'The Myth of Sisyphus', Sisyphus pushes a rock up a hill forever, but Camus says we can imagine him happy because he accepts his fate. Sartre would say Sisyphus must choose to push the rock and own that choice. Both agree we must act, but Sartre stresses responsibility, while Camus stresses acceptance of the absurd.
3. How does the legacy of empire appear in the works of Rushdie, Kureishi, Smith, or Evaristo? Give an example from one author.
The legacy of empire is a key theme in postcolonial literature. For example, in Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children', the British partition of India is a central event that tears families apart and creates new nations. The novel shows how colonial borders still cause conflict. In Kureishi's 'The Buddha of Suburbia', the main character's father was a colonial subject in India, and his move to Britain reflects the migration from former colonies. Smith's 'White Teeth' includes characters who were part of the British Empire, like Samad, who fought for the British in World War II. These works show that empire's effects, like racism and cultural mixing, continue today.
4. Compare the poetry of Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon in terms of their use of Irish history and landscape.
Both Heaney and Muldoon are Irish poets who draw on Irish history and landscape, but in different ways. Heaney often writes about the bogs, farming, and ancient bodies found in peat, connecting them to Irish identity and the Troubles. For example, in 'Bogland', he describes the landscape as holding history. Muldoon, a younger poet, uses more playful and surreal language. He mixes Irish myths with modern references, as in 'Meeting the British', which imagines a meeting between Native Americans and Irish. Heaney's tone is more serious and earthy, while Muldoon's is witty and experimental. Both, however, explore what it means to be Irish in a changing world.
5. How does postcolonial theory challenge the idea of a 'pure' East Asian literary tradition?
Postcolonial theory argues that no culture is pure because colonialism mixed different traditions. For example, modern Japanese literature includes Western literary forms like the novel, which were introduced during the Meiji period. Korean literature has Chinese Confucian influences from before Japanese rule. The theory says that trying to find a 'pure' tradition ignores this history of contact and power. Instead, it celebrates the mixing of cultures as a creative force. Writers like Murakami Haruki blend Japanese and Western styles, showing that hybridity is natural. This challenges nationalist ideas that literature must be 'authentically' East Asian.
6. How does Terry Eagleton apply Marxist theory to literary criticism?
Eagleton sees literature as a product of its social and economic conditions. He argues that texts reflect the ideology of their time, meaning the beliefs that support the ruling class. For example, in 'Literary Theory: An Introduction', he shows how literary criticism itself is political. Eagleton believes that criticism should expose how literature reinforces or challenges power structures. He uses Marxist concepts like class struggle and base/superstructure. His approach is to analyze how a text deals with issues like inequality and oppression. Eagleton's criticism is often witty and accessible, aiming to make theory useful for social change.
7. In what ways does W.H. Auden's 'Musée des Beaux Arts' apply modernist ideas to everyday life?
Auden's poem reflects on a painting by Bruegel, which shows the myth of Icarus falling into the sea while people go about their daily business. The poem applies modernist ideas by focusing on the ordinary and the unnoticed. It says that suffering happens while others are indifferent: 'About suffering they were never wrong, / The Old Masters.' This is modernist because it avoids heroic language and instead shows a realistic, detached view. The poem uses plain speech and a conversational tone. It suggests that tragedy is part of everyday life, and people often ignore it. This reflects modernist themes of alienation and the banality of evil.
8. What is Edward Said's concept of Orientalism, and how does it apply to literary criticism?
Orientalism is Said's term for how Western scholars and writers have portrayed the East as exotic, backward, and inferior. In his book 'Orientalism', he argues that these representations helped justify colonialism. In literary criticism, Orientalism means analyzing how Western literature creates stereotypes of non-Western people. For example, in novels like 'Heart of Darkness', Africa is shown as dark and savage. Said's work is part of postcolonial criticism, which examines the power relations in texts. It encourages readers to question who is speaking and for whom. Orientalism shows that knowledge is not neutral but tied to power.
9. Compare how Graham Swift in 'Waterland' and Kazuo Ishiguro in 'The Remains of the Day' use memory and unreliable narrators.
Both novels use first-person narrators who look back on their pasts, but their memories are not fully reliable. In 'Waterland', the narrator Tom Crick tells stories about his childhood in the Fens and history, but his memories mix with fantasy and guilt. In 'The Remains of the Day', the butler Stevens recalls his service to Lord Darlington, but he hides his own feelings and misjudges events. Both narrators shape their stories to avoid painful truths. Swift uses history as a way to understand personal trauma, while Ishiguro shows how duty can blind a person. Both novels show that memory is subjective and can be deceptive.
10. Why is modernist poetry considered difficult, and how can readers approach it?
Modernist poetry is often hard because it uses fragments, allusions, and unusual structures. It expects readers to work to find meaning. For example, Eliot's 'The Waste Land' has many references to other texts and myths. Readers can approach it by reading slowly and looking up references. It helps to understand the historical context, like the aftermath of World War I. Focusing on images and emotions rather than a clear story can also help. Modernist poets wanted to capture the complexity of modern life, so the difficulty is intentional. By engaging with the poem actively, readers can discover rich layers of meaning.
11. How does existentialist literature use characters to show the idea of 'bad faith'?
'Bad faith' is when people pretend they have no choice to avoid responsibility. For instance, in Sartre's 'No Exit', Garcin claims he cannot change because he is dead, but Sartre shows he still makes choices. Another example is in Camus's 'The Stranger', Meursault acts as if events just happen to him, not taking responsibility for his actions. Existentialist writers use such characters to criticize people who deny their freedom. They show that even in hard situations, we always have a choice, and pretending otherwise is dishonest. The characters often face a moment of realization where they must accept their freedom.
12. Compare how Hanif Kureishi in 'The Buddha of Suburbia' and Zadie Smith in 'White Teeth' portray the experience of diaspora in Britain.
Both novels show characters with mixed cultural backgrounds living in Britain. In 'The Buddha of Suburbia', the protagonist Karim is a young British-Asian man trying to find his place between his Indian father and English mother. The story explores his search for identity in 1970s London. In 'White Teeth', Smith follows several families from different ethnicities in London, focusing on their struggles to fit in while keeping their heritage. Both books use humor and irony to show the challenges of diaspora. They highlight how people create new identities by blending cultures, but also face prejudice and confusion.